Alone in the cold
by Jakoby
Summary: COMPLETE one-shot Lee and Kara fluff. With Kara history attached, or at least my version thereof. RR PLZ!


Alone in the cold.

As the lights snapped on filling the room with a bright glare, Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace slowly awoke. She opened her eyes the tiniest fraction and glared at the figure crouched at her head. Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama grinned and poked her in the ribs until she was fully awake.

"C'mon Kara. Get up already."

"Go way Lee. It can't be time yet."

"Sadly, it is."

Kara groaned and swung her feet to the floor.

"That's more like it. Hurry up; sooner you're ready the sooner we can be done."

As there had been no attacks from the cylons for the past fortnight, the crew of the Galactica had fallen into some semblance of routine. Half the pilots were on patrol duty. Six hours on, six hours off for four days then 2 days off to get rest. Kara and Lee were almost due for leave, with just one more patrol flight left.

Faced with this prospect, Kara was quickly ready and the two walked to the fight deck. With no other pilots coming in or out they were up and flying in record time, and beginning the manual sweep of the area the fleet was in. As they set the instruments to scan for unknown craft the two of them fell into easy conversation and set the Viper's to autopilot. Kara had even the foresight to bring a beer and a straw. Always a one to break regulations.

After half of their patrol had been completed, Apollo's scanner started beeping at him very agitatedly. He stopped halfway through his sentence and concentrated on the screen in front of him.

"Uh-oh. Looks like we've got company Starbuck."

"Frak, how many?"

"Just two, probably just a recon to try and find us. We'd better take care of this quickly." Apollo could almost sense his friend's manic grin at the prospect of blowing them to pieces.

"Try and leave some for me, ok?"

"Not promising anything, you'll just have to keep up." With that Starbuck pulled her Viper round and shot off towards them fighters. Apollo grinned, and doing the same raced after her towards their prey. Together, they took care of one, but as Starbuck was laughing at him as he overshot his mark and spun over several times, she got hit in the back of her craft by the second fighter. Growling angrily, she spun round to face it and met it with a barrage of fire. Caught in the rain of fire the fighter ducked and weaved to get free. But Starbuck didn't let up and as Apollo joined her the barrage increased twofold. The raider managed to fire off its own shots before it's was blow to smithereens. But the shots were aimed well enough to rip apart Starbucks right engine and catch Apollo's wings. As she careered off in the direction of Galatica, Apollo limped after her.

"Starbuck, can you make it back?"

"I…engine…out…CRASH!"

Apollo looked on in horror as they neared the ship she seamed to loose control of her Viper and it crashed through the entry to smash into the wall of the flight deck. He shot after her and after his own bumpy land, jumped out of his ship and raced over the wreck.

"Kara?" he called cautiously. He was rewarded by a faint sound by the wall. Climbing over the wreckage of the Viper, he reached the cockpit and pulling away pieces of shattered glass found her trapped under a chunk of Viper wing and out cold.

"Kara! Come on, wake up! Don't die on me!"

But Lee was shoved out of the way as a medical team took over and began to extract her from the debris. One stepped aside and walked over to him.

"Come on Sir. I have to take you to the LifeStation, looks like a nasty break there." For the first time Apollo noticed the excruciating pain in his left elbow. His arm hung uselessly by his side. Taking a last look at his friend, Kara was being lifted onto a stretcher; he let himself be led away to the LifeStation.

The next morning Lee woke up on a bed in the LifeStation with a heavy plaster around his arm. He looked across the room to where Kara was lying on another bed. She looked deathly white and had supports on her knee, back and left arm. Lee checked himself over for other injuries but just felt a throbbing pain in his elbow that was bearable. Slowly he got up and steadying himself, wheeled his bed over to Kara. He pushed them together and hoisted himself back onto it. His mind was sick with worry for his friend. Slowly he thought over that. Friend? Was Kara a friend, or was she, more than that. He'd never thought about it before, being to caught up in his work as the CAG and being a son. But, was his worry just that of a concerned friend or a love-sick man for the woman he loved.

Lee groaned, he never thought he could fall for someone, and he didn't want to start now but it looked as though he was well on the way. He took her hand in his and as he lay there, slowly fell asleep.

Later that day when Lee woke he smiled at Kara who was sleeping peacefully beside him. It was something he could definitely get used to. But, slowly he saw that the machine registering her life signs was showing her body temperature gradually decreasing. Much lower and she would sink into hypothermia. He looked on in horror as her colour changed slowly from pinkish to white tinged with blue. He did the only thing his head could think of. As the doctors had removed the back support in favour of bandages he shifted closer to her and reaching out pulled her towards him. Turning her inch by inch onto her side and drew her against his chest with his arms around her, head nestled in his neck. She was like ice but slowly, painstakingly slowly, her temperature forced its way higher until she was normal.

Kara sighed in contentment and snuggled closer to him putting her hands over his. She fell into a deeper sleep. Lee grinned and enjoying the warmth they were both creating did the same. As sleep took him, his body slowly shut down. It had been waiting for a chance to recuperate and now seemed like a good opportunity.

The next day, Kara woke, warm and strangely happy. That wasn't right, she never woke up happy. Then she realised that her sleep had been free from dreams, or more precise, nightmares. As her brain slowly got into gear she noticed that there was a body of warmth at her back and for some reason two arms circling her waist. She craned her neck to see who it was and saw with a jolt of surprise that it was Lee. Not that it was a bad position to be in, she couldn't even begin to count the number of times she'd day-dreamed about her and Lee. Kara had been in love with him since they were teenagers. Zack was always second best compared to Lee, but Lee was just never a possibility.

Just then a Med officer walked in to check up on the two of them. She smiled at seeing Kara awake.

"Glad to see you back in the land of the living, you've been out for two days." Kara smiled weakly. The woman checked the pair's vital signs,

"Well, you'll be glad to know that your arm has started to heal, your knee will be sore for a week or two, and the bruising on your back will fade with time. You should be ready to leave in the next day or two."

Kara's face turned into a grin at the prospect of flying soon.

"Hold your horses cowboy; you won't be able to fly for the next month until that arm has completely healed. Even then you'll have to spend time getting fitter after the time spent not in active service."

The grin disappeared.

"Fortunately, your fella here is in exactly the same predicament with his own broken arm." She paused, looking at her notes and smiled as Lee shifted slightly and drew Kara closer to him.

"I'll leave you two alone." And with that, satisfied that they were both doing all right, she walked back to her office. Kara growled with frustration, no flying for almost two months! But, slowly, she drifted to sleep.

Some time later, Lee came awake. He looked over at the machine monitoring Kara and seeing that she was no longer in any danger, extracted himself and lay back on his own bed. Lying, staring at the ceiling he realised that his broken arm would put him out of service for some time. He sighed, resignedly but brightened at the thought of being with Kara. He looked over to her sleeping peacefully and sighed again. If he was advising someone else, he'd just say to get it over with and tell her. But doubts flooded his mind. How do you tell the woman that had been engaged to your little brother that you're in love with them? It's not a classic opening line.

Gradually, whilst Lee was lost in his thoughts, Kara began to mutter in her sleep.

"Jake? Please no. Don't let it be him. Please let him be all right."

Lee was jerked from his melancholy as Kara cried out.

"NO! Jake, come back! Don't leave me alone in the cold!" He jumped up and wincing slightly as his arm was jarred lifted her up and gently shook her awake. Tears were steaming down her face as she came awake to see his warm, blue eyes. Trying to speak, she choked and Lee just pulled her into his arms and held her as she let out the grief that was behind the nightmare. Slowly, her tears grew less but Kara made no move to leave Lee arms. He stroked her hair and tried to work out who the frak she'd been dreaming about. Must have been in the time when he was at War College before she started going out with Zack.

"You ok?" he asked softly.

She nodded and moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. Seeing Kara avoiding his eyes, he could tell she was in no mood to explain her nightmare.

"You know how long they're planning on keeping us in here?" She looked up with unspoken gratitude shinning in her eyes.

"Till tomorrow. Though, no flying for over a month."

"I'd guessed as much. You're not gonna do anything stupid like trying to convince people your fit for flight weeks before you should be like last time are you?" Lee grinned as he said it, knowing she would remember when she broke her leg before a big skirmish with the cylons for a tillium planet.

She looked sheepish and slowly shook her head. Lee grinned.

"So, want a game of pyramid?" Kara looked at him in surprise.

"But, you're worse than a frakking daggit when you play pyramid."

He shrugged,

"I guess, but it beats sleeping, again."

Slowly as the two of them recovered from the shock and whiplash they were allowed out of the LifeStation back to their rooms. As they hobbled their way down the corridor Lee turned to Kara,

"You're room or mine?"

"Now you know fraternization between ranks is against regulations Lee."

He blushed crimson at the double meaning in his words.

"I didn't mean that. We're neither of us in a state to get anywhere on my own, and don't even think about arguing Kara." He said, quickly stopped the retort in its tracks.

"I guess. Yours, it's bigger."

He grinned,

"One of the few advantages to rank. You know, I still don't get why you haven't made Captain."

"Tigh."

"Huh?"

"Tigh, the man hates me. You can't get very far if your XO doesn't like. I barely got Leiutenant. It was only because your Dad made him realise I was the only one good enough for the job."

As they reached the door to Lee's quarters Kara effectively shoved him and to make climbing in easier for her. It didn't work as her foot caught on the door and she fell on top of him. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out in pain and manoeuvred across the floor to Lee's bunk room. Lee got up just in time to see her haul herself into his bed. He hurried over as tears forced their way out of her eyes.

"Kara, you ok? What's wrong?"

"My knee." She managed to force out through clenched teeth.

"It just hurts; think I jarred it when I fell despite the soft landing."

He laughed; at least she still had her sense of humour. Slowly her face went back to normal and she let out a long breath.

"Don't think I'm gonna get up anytime soon. Sorry for stealing your bed."

"I don't mind, it's not like we never slept in the same bed at the Academy."

"That was just because you were always too tired to climb up into your own bunk after studying."

"Yeah well."

He hoisted himself onto the bed and lay down slowly.

"Sweet dreams Kara."

"Yeah."

The next morning Lee was awoken by Kara yelling and screaming in her sleep.

"Jake, please don't leave! It's not like I wanted the kid to come onto me. Please Jake, Jake? NO! Don't leave like this, please wake up! JAKE!"

"Kara! Wake up, Kara!"

Lee shook her awake as the tears started to fall. Kara opened her eyes and seeing Lee's beautiful blue eyes full of concern for her just made it worse. She broke down and threw herself in him. Lee held her in shock. This was Kara. The hottest pilot on the ship who never showed her emotions to anyone. He'd never seen her cry and that was after sharing a room with her for 4 years at the academy before going to War College. Slowly her tears subsided.

"Kara, please, tell me what's wrong."

She looked up into the face of the man who was all the family she had left in the world and the man she trusted with her life.

"I…before I met Zack…I was with a guy called Jack." She stopped and cleared her throat.

"We'd been seeing each other for 3 years, since I was 17. I loved him so much, and he loved me. But he was very protective. It was before I learnt how to take care of myself."

Lee smiled at the memory of Kara when he first met her. Blonde, beautiful and very wary of aggression.

"We were out one night and then Zak came up to me and started chatting me up. Jake was jealous but he let it go. I flirted a little, it was fun and he invited me back to his room. I said no, but he kissed me. Jake stormed over, punched Zak in the face and then stormed out. I ran after him and tried to explain that I hadn't encouraged him but he didn't listen and said we were through. He left and walked straight into the path of a first year with a gun. You remember, he'd drunk and stolen it from the arms room. He was shooting wildly around and hit Jake in the chest. I ran over to him but by the time I got to him he was already dead. I got with Zak on the rebound and it went on from there. I didn't love him, just needed someone to fill the space."

"I, I don't understand. You blame yourself for his death?"

"Well who else's fault was it?"

"Partly Zak, partly his own but mainly the guy with the gun. Kara you didn't make him run into the guy, he did that on his own. You have to try and let go. It's been 5 years since then."

Kara looked at him surprise as he wiped her tears away.

"You said you were 17, I didn't fail basic math unlike some people."

She laughed,

"I only failed once, and that's only because I'd gotten so drunk the night before."

Lee suddenly thought of something.

"So that's why you changed so suddenly."

"I didn't have anyone to look after me anymore. I had to look after myself. Plus I like the respect I get."

"Respect, fear more like it."

"Yeah well, same response."

"Anyway, you always had me to look after you. You know I've always cared for you."

"Yeah, in a brotherly way. Not in a lover type way. Zak was a wimp who couldn't even pass basic flight." She ignored the flicker of emotion that went across his face. "I had to look after myself and fight for myself; you never felt that way about me and so couldn't help."

Lee gulped, it was now or never.

"Kara, I …did once."

She looked at him in astonishment.

"When did you stop?"

"When I came aboard Galactica. I figured I couldn't have feelings for you and be in command over you at the same time."

"So you just put a lid on it."

"What else could I do? It's not like you ever felt the same way about me."

Kara looked down at her hands, the bed. Anywhere but into those eyes.

"Kara?" he whispered softly.

"Did you?"

"Lee, I…"

"Tell me the truth."

"Lee, I always liked you. Did before we went to the Academy but then I met Jake and I decided to stop letting it rule my life."

He lifted he chin and made her look into his eyes.

"Did you love me?"

"No."

His face fell like a rock and he went to leave. She grabbed his hand,

"I still do."

Lee got up and pulled her with him until they were both standing so close that he could feel her heart beating in her chest. Slowly, so so slowly he closed the distance between their faces and kissed her ever so gently. She responded and wrapped both arms around his neck. Just as gently he broke the kiss,

"Kara, I love you. And I will never ever let you go."


End file.
